“I don’t even know why I bothered. Of all the people to send, why HIM?”

Liaena breathed in heavily through her nose as she glowered at Marshall. The old man proceeded to give her a narrow stare in return through his spectacles, then return to inspecting the book as he made a shooing gesture with one hand. “Now go away. I’m extremely busy, girl”

Standing in the doorway, Liaena debated the ethics and/or practicalities of leaving at that point and tossing in a grenade over her shoulder. Instead, she walked forward to stand in front of the priests desk, Marshall very pointedly ignoring her. “Father, there is a death knight in this city. He has his own army, with ghosts and undead and Light knows what else”

“….”

“Does it say what a death knight is in your book, father?” Liaena enquired nastily, temper rising again in the petulant silence that followed. Marshall turned a page. “It’s only a servant of the scourge, enemy of the –“

“I know what a death knight is, brat” Marshall snapped out. The old man had looked up this, glaring up at Liaena. “Enough of this foolishness! You mean to tell me that a relic of a defeated enemy, the crawling scum of this world, could infiltrate the finest of our cities, the bastion of our Light, under the very nose of our church and nobody would even notice!?”

“Yes”

Raising an eyebrow, Marshall gave her a long speculative look, before snorting. “Hmph. Well, they are blind idiots. But you’re also a nasty manipulative brat. So you’re probably lying”

“THAT’S WHY YOU’RE HERE! THEY SENT YOU!” Liaena screamed back. Having lost every fraction of her temper, she could easily have strangled the old man in front of her. “To HELP US! Now Kitty’s MISSING, and you won’t even get off your useless ass to go help her! You’re a relic! A has been! A – STOP READING THAT BOOK!”

Sweeping out with an arm, book, papers, quill and ink went flying off the desk to scatter all over the floor.

There was a very long silence. Then, Marshall slowly climbed to his feet to loom to his full height, which was in this case about half Liaena’s height again. The man might be old, but he was naturally broad of shoulder. “Pick that up”

“You—“

“Pick. That. Up.”

Liaena picked that up, as Marshall seated himself again still glaring at the girl the entire time. “Can you prove any of this, girl?”

“…..No”

“…..”

Having received his book back, Marshall inspected it for damage and ink stains. Finding several, he gave Liaena a long, nasty glare as he pointed at a stool in the corner. “Sit. Explain to me all of your ridiculous claims, and then I’ll decide how much trouble you’re in”

“But we don’t have the—“

“SIT!”

Liaena sat, as Marshall returned to attending to his book as if a parent to their first born child. Glancing back at the girl, he stabbed a stiff finger at her. “And no lies. The Light guides me to sniffing out the deceit in your soul!”

Having just opened her mouth to begin, Liaena stared dubiously at the ceiling as she avoided Marshalls gaze. “Uhhhh sure. Anyway…”

"We are to cooperate with a practitioner of that false ape faith?!"

Serphia roared, the surprise having passed only to make way for the Captain's unbridled anger at the mere notion of cooperating with a light keeper! Staring down at Rithrynn with an absolutely baneful expression, as if Rithrynn had just brought the foulest of foul messages; the sentinel waved her arms in return as she desperately tried to come up with something else.

"No, you have to listen. There's undead, creatures of the night and then there's... " Rithrynn babbled, taking a moment to think before throwing herself to her knees.

" ... can we talk about this in private?"

Serphia continued to glare down at her subject, the Captain's mood not having improved at all. Looking up at the roof for a moment, she eventually cast the room around her a glance.

"Very well. Return to the festivities, sisters. I will deal with this matter personally." She stated to her sisters, all of whom were quick to turn their heads back around, less to return to their previous activites, and more just to make it clear that they had no intention of objecting the decree of their Captain. As she was on her knees, looking towards her Captain's feet, Rithrynn suddenly caught a glimpse of a smaller figure standing beneath a pillow not far from her. It was Shani, who was throwing her a wicked, gleeful smile while trying to suppress a chuckle.

With a vein popping in her forehead beneath her deep blue hair, Rithrynn suddenly reached out an arm to grab the tiny elf; Shani barely managing to emit a peep before being encapsulated by Rithrynn's fist! Pulling her annoying sister back behind her back as she rose to her feet, she raised her head to meet her Captain's gaze just as Serphia's eyes returned to her.

"Goddess, this will require some diplomacy! ... crap, what will I do?! No, don't panic... think! What would Liaena or Sharon do?!"

"Right, ehhh... " Rithrynn muttered as she stared back up at the highly unamused and stone cold expression on her Captain's face.
"I... I know a room, just follow me!"

Rithrynn explained as she began to sidestep out of the room, the towering Captain following in her footsteps. Leaving the living room behind, the noise and laughter from her sisters in it quickly returned as soon as the Captain and her ill mood had departed from the room. Not pausing, Rithrynn continued to lead Serphia through Sharon's mansion until they reached one of the smaller guest rooms that had still been left untouched by the ravaging partygoers in her warband. It was a small, rectangular room with a small extinguished fireplace, and a couple of extra chairs lined against the exquisite drapery and wooden framework of the surrounding walls.

Hastily fleeting over to the walls, Rithrynn retrieved two chairs. One she placed directly opposite of her Captain, the other she placed behind Serphia.

"Take a seat, and I'll get some refreshments! I know there's some chocolate around here."

"I do not have time for games, Syn'Dial." Serphia replied in an irritated tone, as Rithrynn gave her a cheerful smile in return.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back! As fast a cheetah!" Rithrynn quickly explained, secretly slipping a rather disheveled Shani onto the seat of the chair behind Serphia before the sentinel raced out the door to plunder Miss Colin's kitchen!

Looking outright offended as much as confused, Serphia had opened her mouth to speak - but Rithrynn had already departed the room before she could utter another command. Letting out an annoyed 'hmmph!', she crossed her arms as she looked across the room. In the meantime, behind her on the seat of the chair, Shani was slowly returning to her senses, having previously been churned by Rithrynn's crushing fist!

"Elune... I will get you, Rithrynn... uuggh, that's the... uh.. " Shani muttered, but suddenly frooze when she looked up to see the wide backside of her oblivious Captain looming over her.

"She better not be late." Serphia spoke as she gazed towards the half open door that Rithrynn had disappeared like a bullet through. Letting out a sigh, she let her shoulders fall before extending her butt back, preparing to sit.

"Wait, no... MISTRESS!" Was Shani's immediate reaction upon seeing her Captain's big, purple butt descend towards her, the tiny elf staggering onto her feet in an attempt to flee, but was too slow. Raising a brow at the tiny voice that she suddenly heard, Serphia looked confused around her.

"Shani?" She asked, before slumping down into the chair with her butt, and the tiny Shani disappeared beneath her! As she landed, the undersized human chair creaked and churned, and Serphia opened her mouth in surprise as she felt the tiny sentinel as she was shoved up into her rear! Simply sitting completely still for a moment, Serphia looked down at her lap, before letting out a soft chuckle.

"So that's where you were!" Serphia suddenly announced, a cunning smile now appearing on her face.
"I remember what I promised you. I have to admit, it was a good hiding place. At least Rithrynn is good for something."

Serphia spoke in a gleeful tone, the big Night Elf now leaning back in the chair while slowly wriggling her butt from side to side as she gained a more comfortable position. But that minor movement was all it would take to break the camel's back...

"Ahh, this isn't so bad after...

*CRACK*

*CRASH*

Within the blink of an eye, the undersized human chair had given way under the Captain's rump, her weight alongside the added movement being too much for the undersized furniture to handle! With a crash, the seat, followed by Serphia's butt, slammed down in the wooden floor below. With yet another surprised look on her face, Serphia poked the seat under her, which at that point was the only remaining and still structurally intact piece of the chair. The sensation that now came from Shani, could only suggest that the tiny elf had gone any other way other than out during the little crash.

"Keep that up, and you might impress me, sentinel Shani... " Serphia smirked with a playful voice as she placed her hands on her hips, a tone that was highly unsual of her cold and strict character. But the Captain's attention was suddenly drawn away as Rithrynn just entered the room, the Night Elf carrying a small silver tray of drinks, berries and some meals. Behind her, emanating from outside the room came a series of cuss-words, but they were blocked off as Rithrynn kicked the door shut and walked to the center of the room.

"Here, I think... you will appreciate... uhm, are you alright?" Rithrynn suddenly stopped when she saw Serphia sitting on top of what remained of the crushed chair. Taking a moment to wash the surprise of her face, she simply kicked her own chair away before sitting down on the floor opposite of her, planting the tray between them.

"So, I got some Moonberry wine, some roasted vulture, and even managed to acquire some chocolate! ... all yours, if you want."

“So, this Sherman character…”

“Sherpa”

“…is actually a living death knight, and he wants to kill that Quel’dorei fellow downstairs because he defeated him in Dalaran”

“Uh, yes” Liaena muttered uncomfortably. Marshall glared at her for a moment longer, before fixing his gaze on a shelf on the wall behind her thoughtfully.

“I don’t believe it! Not a word!” The old man finally proclaimed loudly, stumping his walking stick onto the floor beside him to punctuate his words. Liaena ground her teeth together as he swung his head back to her looking pompous and smug. “Now if the Cathedral requested that I come here to assist that Quel’dorei, as you allege, I would have received a holy order ordaining my presence. And I didn’t. So you’re lying.”

“I think…” Liaena muttered finally, having swallowed about her first seven responses to that comment “…that your assistant would have had that letter”

“What assistant?”

If looks could kill, Marshal would be an oozing puddle on the floor. “The one that’s gone missing”

“….”

A long silence fell, as Marshall stared at the little girl. Finally he leaned forward, craggy white beard and eyebrows jutting out with his eyes fixed on her. “You mean to tell me that my assistant, a sworn member of this holy order, has gone missing?”

“…Yeeees?”

“To these unholy powers!? How dare they!!” Marshall bellowed, getting to his feet and kicking his chair aside to start kicking clothes and boxes about. Liaena stayed glued to her seat, hardly daring to move least it precipitate another random shift in attitude. The old man rounded on her, eyes glinting furiously. “Sloth is the most wicked of sins, girl, why didn’t you tell me about this immediately!?”

“I – you – “ Liaena opened her mouth furiously, before making a heroic effort at controlling her temper. “….I’m sorry Father”

“Ring the bells! Rouse the Paladins! These foul creatures will feel our strength, by the Light!” Marshall roared as he made for the shattered door, stick in hand. Liaena chased after him, frantically trying to pull him back. “No! Nonono! You can’t do that!”

Having reached the doorway, Marshall swung around to glower down at her. “Oh? And why not, exactly?”

“….”

Momentarily stalling, Liaena had to recollect her scrambled thoughts before she could formulate an answer to that question. “…It’s a stealth mission? Father, these guys are legit as far as the law is concerned. We can’t just…attack them”

Looming over her, Marshall stared down, eyes glinting. “The Light of the World is our law, girl. And it does not skulk in the shadows. It’s time you remembered that”

And with that the old man swung around to stomp off down the corridor, robes billowing around him. Liaena chased after him, still attempting to get a word in edgeways and calling out to Frederick, who was according to form, standing peacefully just outside the door. “Father – Marshall – wait! It’s not that simple…Frederick, go to Sharon’s study and get the book on his desk, would you? Tell him – just tell him it’s all under control!”

Despite the commotion that was going on upstairs where Liaena frantically tried to stall a living scion of stubbornness, Marshal, and the utter chaos that was the living room; the small guest room in which Rithrynn and Serphia were sitting remained oddly quiet compared to the rest of the house.

Serphia, who was sitting in the ruins of what had once been a chair, initially stared at the tray of deliciousness that had been brought before her by Rithrynn. It was certainly no doubt that the many decades that the sentinel had spent under her ruthless command has also given her an insight into her eating habits, which Serphia noticed as she scanned the selection.

“Is that rockpepper salt mixed with salary sauce on that rib?!”

“I hope it’s all to your satisfaction, mistress?” Rithrynn opened carefully, throwing her Captain a smile. Serphia knew immediately what to say, but took a moment to restrain herself as to not sound too grateful.

“Yes, it is… quite nice.” She muttered in an unimpressed voice, but unable to hide a big smirk behind her words as she raised a goblet of moonwine to take a smell.

“So, about the operation… “

Serphia had to take a few seconds to think when Rithrynn first mentioned the operation, the Captain realizing that she had completely forgotten the initial reason Rithrynn had taken her to the room in the first place. This was in no small part due to two surprises, the food, as well as Shani, the latter making her think about getting a more private room with her delightful work.

“Look, we don’t actually need him… we probably won’t need him! We are just required to carry him around,” Rithrynn explained, keeping a light and neutral tone as she smiled at her Captain.
“His stupid faith is as false as it can be, but Sharon, the High Elf… he has a phobia for evil magic! He can’t really leave his house without the complete assurance that dark magic won’t ever touch him, lest he gets severe panic attacks!”

“Really?” Serphia commented passively while taking a sip of the goblet, while shuffling her rump around on the remains of the seat to help the unfortunate Shani further inside.

“Yes, and since he has been such a gracious host… I think it only fair that we return that small favor. It would be dishonorable to accept his food and shelter without at least respecting him for one of his lesser concerns.”

Just as Rithrynn finished her last sentence, Serphia had closed her eyes as she leaned her head back. A tiny, almost unaudible wail echoed through the room. Rithrynn threw a careful look down at Serphia’s thighs, the only rational explanation which she could find for the mysterious noise was that it must have come for Shani, who presumably had just gone deeper into her captain’s rear, Elune only knows how far. Quickly looking away as Serphia opened her eyes again, the Captain threw her a half interested look.

“Honor? Yes, that is an important point… “ Serphia muttered, halfway struggling to listen to what Rithrynn was saying.
“We do not want the Quel to think that he is in any way better than us. Mmm.”

Serphia said, before the brief serious tone of the Captain’s face drifted away and into a delightful expression. Rithrynn, retaining her best service smile, nodded eagerly in return!

“You know best, mistress, shall we go together and tell him, or… “ Rithrynn suggested, but letting her last word linger in the air as she looked to the Captain. Serphia, finishing her goblet, placed it back on the tray before letting out a sigh.

“Why… don’t you go ahead, Syn’Dial. I’d like half an hour before I meet this Sharon. To find my uniform… and other things.“ She muttered with a soft smile, while gently wriggling her butt to either side. Rithrynn bowed her head, secretly surprised that her little plan had worked so well! … so far.

“Of course, mistress!” Rithrynn answered as the sentinel got up on her feet, not having touched the tray of food which she had left exclusively to her Captain. Backstepping towards the door in a bowed position, Rithrynn turned only to open it before shooting out of the room; closing the door shut behind her before leaning back on it.

“Phew… now that’s over with!”

Leaning back in his cushy leather office chair, Sharon was casually levitating a random paperweight and bottle of ink over his desk with a channeled spell when Friedrick suddenly turned the corner outside his office and marked in at an urgent pace.

"Good afternoon, Master Sharon. I trust all is still well?" He asked politely as he approached Sharon's desk. But when the human butler suddenly picked up the diary from Alfidious, Sharon was surprised to the point that he lost control of the levitation spell. While the paperweight slammed back down into his desk, the High Elf narrowly managed to catch the ink bottle before it spilled all across his desk.

"Wait, what do you need that one for?" Sharon hastily inquired as he looked towards the diary, placing the ink back on his desk.

"Just a request from Lady Rune in her attempt to negotiate with father Marshal. The man has a strong sense of independence."

"You mean stubbornness?"

"Yes, and a flair of the 'know-it-all' as well. But do not worry, Lady Rune wanted me to tell you that she has all under control.

"Of course... "

A report and assurance that 'all was OK' was never very reassuring when it came from Liaena, Sharon thought to himself. But it seemed too early to intervene, and so the High Elf eventually nodded, allowing the butler to leave with the book.

"Very well. If she needs it. But I want it back here when it is done. Let no harm befall it!"

"As if it was my newborn, Master Sharon." Friedrick answered politely, before the elderly butler turned and marched out of the room, carrying himself with a pace that suggested an attempt to balance his sense of professionalism between the required haste and urgency of the situation in question. As the lower end of Friedrick's tailcoat disappeared beyond the door, Sharon retreated back into his chair, folding his fingers together as he gazed out of his office.

"I can only hope Rithrynn is doing better than Liaena. Considering the fact that I haven't heard any sound of fighting or bones breaking, that can only be a good sign as far as any attempt to negotiate with Serphia is concerned."

“Father. Marshall! WAIT! I haven’t told you everything yet!” Liaena cried as she chased after the unrelenting Marshall. Storming through the corridors they occasionally passed drunk Night Elves, some of whom looked curious enough to start meandering after them. The result was that the pair were starting to attract a most unwelcome audience as Liaena dodged around the old man to block a doorway he was about to pass through, holding up her hands in a placatory gesture.

“It’s a really, really bad idea to just run in there, okay? I get that you’re angry, I am too. But look…”

“Lady Rune? As you requested”

Arriving as always at the most appropriate moment, Frederick materialised beside them to politely present Alficious’s diary to Liaena. Liaena grabbed it quickly to find the pages with Alficious’ investigation of the White Hand, and hold it out to Marshall. “This is what a Lord learned about the White Hand, and he died for it. If – if these people or Sherpa realise that we are onto them, it’ll put Kitty in so much danger…”

Snatching the book off of her, Marshall flipped through it before arriving at the relevant pages. Scanning it, his eyes narrowed into angry slits at Liaena. “Stupid girl. You think that I would be rash enough to face this foe alone? Do you take me for a fool, brat!?”

“Uh…no” Liaena said doubtfully, tracking the book obsessively with her eyes. “Okay, good—“

“Which is why I’m reporting this to the Cathedral immediately”

“WHAT. Uh…Marshall” Liaena glanced desperately over her shoulder at the Night Elves that were starting to drift closer. “That-that might not be such the best idea. Remember, they did entrust this task to you—“

“I have the humility to know when something is beyond me, girl”

Marshall’s eyebrows had again furrowed into a deep line between his eyes as he glowered at the girl. “Who else would I ask to aid this cause of ours? Those wicked, shrieking, faithless harpies?”

“…..”

“Well…”

Losing interest, Marshall strode forward to push right past Liaena to start bulldozering down the corridor again, book in hand. Chasing after, Liaena found herself having to run at his side if only to maintain the conversation. “I don’t like them either Father, but they do have their uses. If we are going to sneak into this place…”

“The Light Of The World does not sneak”

“They do if their enemies are completely legitimate businessmen!” Liaena hissed furiously back.

“If the Light says they are not, then they are not. The king himself will know of this affront! This heresy!”

“…The King. Really.”

Still trying her best to keep up, Liaena gave Marshall a do-you-have-any-idea-what-you-sound-like look, before rolling her eyes at him. “This is urgent, Father. You want to wait six months until you get audience with him? …”

“He attends Mass tomorrow morning, brat. Which you would know if you ever paid deference”

“….”

Stalling in the corridor, Liaena watched Marshall stomp away from her, eyes wide. The entire ruckus had attracted quite a few Night Elves but the girl made no attempt to cool the situation, or follow the priest, instead thinking hard.

“Lady Rune?” Frederick enquired politely, having caught up to stand to attention next to the silent girl. “Shall I request Lady Dei intercept him at the gate?”

“Uh…No” Liaena said distantly after a long pause. Still tracking the old man with her eyes, she started to move forward again to follow him, before flapping a hand at Frederick. “Could you arrange a carriage instead? Thanks”

Having taken a moment to gather herself, Rithrynn had begun to return to the atrium, confident that Serphia would be satisfied for at least the greater part of the next hour. But as her worries about her little diplomacy with Serphia faded away, her thoughts began to move over to Liaena and the girl's work.

"I wonder if she is doing any better."

But as the Night Elf traveled through the numerous corridors and hallways of Sharon's expansive mansion, the Night Elf's question was soon answered when she saw both Liaena and Marshal pass through the corridor ahead of her, with the old man leading the way, and Liaena right behind him. The pair seemed to be caught in a heated discussion, or rather; an all out argument between the two!

"Huh, it looks like she isn't doing so much better after all."

The Night Elf noted, feeling a tiny amount of satisfaction at having beaten Liaena at convincing her own quarry, even if Shani had been the one doing most of the involuntary work during her session with Serphia! Looking further behind them, she noticed that a small gathering of her fellow sisters had gathered in the corridor behind them, seemingly finding the struggle between the two humans amusing and as a source of entertainment. If there was popcorn in the house, Rithrynn could swear it would have been passed around among them right now!

"Hey, Li!" Rithrynn said as she walked up next to Liaena as Marshal quickened his pace and marched forward, as if he had been chosen by the very light itself to carry out the most sacred of sacred missions! Glancing down at the smaller black haired girl, Rithrynn threw the human a sly smirk.

"How goes the negotiations?"

“Could you arrange a carriage instead? Thanks”

"How soon do you need it?"

"Now!"

"Very well, I shall see to it." Friedrick nodded, quickly departing from Liaena and Marshal's company to disappear away in the opposite corridor. Walking through a series of rooms on the second floor, Friedrick approached the doorway to the balcony; only pausing to grab a flare gun that was hidden behind the drapery by the windows; before exiting the room and walking onto the snow covered balcony.

Receiving an odd stare from the Night Elven watcher who already stood on the balcony as he stepped out on it, the butler simply gave her a friendly smile in return while walking over to the balustrade. Cocking the gun, he aimed it to the sky to fire out a purple flare much to the bewilderment of the spectating watcher.

---

Leaning against his carriage was a shorter, slightly well-rounded gentleman by the name of Ragnold Butterbee, wearing a black fur cloak and a big tophat over his ginger hair. Rubbing his gloves together, he cast the surrounding street a disappointed look, all the nobles and rich people of the district apparently having chosen the day to walk and be sporty..

"Damn health trends... " He muttered to himself, brumming audibly to himself. But that was when he saw a glimpse of what could only look like a mid-day firework display further away in the district, which gained the carriage driver's attention. At first he looked merely confused, curious about who'd shoot up fireworks in the middle of the day. But when his brain finally arrived to the only logical conclusion, his eyes shot wide open in amazement!

"By all the shits that are holy, Sharon is actually gonna pay for a ride?!" The man muttered, sounding utterly shocked! But the surprise only lasted a few moments, before Ragnold had jumped onto the front seat of his carriage, and flailed his lash through the air to get the two black horses pulling his carriage to move! The carriage immediately started moving as the horses woke to life, the wheels spitting snow to either side of the street as he raced towards the front entrance of Sharon's mansion a few blocks down!

Upon arriving at the front entrance to Sharon's house, he braked violently; both the carriage and the horses sliding a couple of meters through the snow until he and the carriage finally stopped directly outside of the fenced entrance to Sharon.

"Anyone want a ride?" Ragnold inquired as he looked towards the entrance, tipping his hat. But despite his offering, he ended up receiving nothing but a filthy stare from the Night Elf at the gate. Nor did the watchers scattered across the roof seem any happier about his arrival, with no less than three arrows currently trained at him.

“How goes the negotiations?”

Liaena threw her a look that strongly suggested that a thought she couldn’t believe had just occurred to her, had just occurred to her. Eyeing the Night Elf up and down with a sizeable level of distaste, the girl finally sighed and rolled her eyes as a decision had been reached by her. “It’s fine. Get your stuff. We’re going out”

“What?”

“Going. Out. Now.” Liaena enunciated slowly and clearly. Marshall, for all his age had a remarkable level of stamina, sped up and Liaena had to increase her pace to catch up with him as she stabbed a finger back over her shoulder at Rithrynn. “Be at the gate in two minutes alright, or we’ll just go without you!”

*

“I have summoned a carriage to the house, Lady Rune. I estimate it will be here in under two minutes, allowing for the snow on the road of course. Your cloak?”

“Thanks Frederick”

“If I may, Lady Rune…” Frederick said politely, taking long careful strides to keep pace with Liaena as she jogged along. Brushing aside the curtain that still served as the front door – apparently carpenters and locksmiths resented being held at arrow-point while working – she jumped down the steps to the slushy, melted snow of the garden. “…Would you like me to take a message for you to Master Sharon?”

“Uhm…” Liaena muttered. Navigating the puddles of the garden path at that moment seemed more important than meeting Fredericks polite, but penetrating gaze. “Yes, I suppose so. Tell him…tell him something came up, but I’ve got it all under control…I…”

“Oh, excellent punctuality. I must write a letter of recommendation” Frederick said cheerfully as a carriage screeched to a halt at the gate, splattering water, muck and melted snow everywhere as well as onto the unfortunate Night Elf waiting at the gate. Liaena pushed the gate open after Marshall, ignoring the angry watcher and grabbing the door handle to the carriage. “Marshall. MARSHALL! We have a CAB! Come back!”

“Watch your tone, girl!”

“Of course…” Liaena muttered grumpily as she swung the door to the cab open for Marshall to climb in. Keeping a watchful eye on Alficious’ diary, still clutched in the deadlock that was the old mans hand, she slammed the door after him before turning to Frederick again. “Look. We need more allies that what we’ve got, okay, and I’m going to go deal with that. Tell Sharon I’ll be back before tonight, and the plan can still go ahead, I promise”

“So….where are we headed? You coming too, girl?”

“Yes” Liaena responded, after a brief glance towards the house that as yet revealed no Rithrynn rushing towards them. The girl couldn’t help but feel rather relieved after all, as she placed a foot on the step to climb up on the driver’s seat beside the cabbie. “Cathedral of Light, asap please. We need to make a brief detour in the Trade District though. I’ll direct”

"We are leaving?`Where?"

"TWO MINUTES, RI!"

So much for that answer!

Rithrynn's smug grin had been replaced with a look of confusion as she simply stood in the hallway, looking after the busy Liaena who was either following, or chasing Marshal. With the speed at which the older man marched and Liaena's struggle to keep up, it was hard to tell which.

"What are we going to do outside Sharon's mansion? Has she gotten impatient and decided to do a pre-emptive attack on Sherpa's castle?!"

Rithrynn shook her head, before turning around and running back to her room. Like an elven whirlwind, she threw off her pass-time silk robes, whom landed only Elune knew where! Finding her uniform, she systematically went through every strap and buckle with mechanical precision as she pulled on her winter robes, chestplate, tassets, gloves and boots!

"Elune, I miss the summer uniforms!" Rithrynn muttered angrily to herself as she pulled on her cloak, arrow quiver and bow. Snatching her belt and dagger, she barely had time to attach it before she was already running out the door; snatching her sheathed sword while pulling down her helmet as she exited the room in all hurry!

"Sorry, coming through! Out of my way!" She called as she ran past her sisters, racing through Sharon's mansion! Reaching the garden, Rithrynn sprinted through the melting snow to reach the carriage. With a graceful jump, Rithrynn leaped right into the door; though her graceful acrobatics were soon interrupted by an audible 'BANG' sounded as her helmet hit the low carriage roof, resulting in the Night Elf flying past both Marshal and Liaena on the inside to slam into the opposite door, which was fortunately locked. But the crash nonetheless was enough almost tilt the carriage, its left wheels rising up from the ground for a moment as it tilted dangerously low to the right; before slamming back down with a dunk!

"Argh, salai me Fanor... stupid gnome transport! Urgh... " Rithrynn mumbled as she sat up in the carriage, holding her helmet but feeling happy that she had remembered to bring it. Otherwise she would probably have been sporting a rather large bruiser!

As the entire carriage tilted to the side, Ragnold had to hold on to his tophat as he tilted alongside his wagon to prevent it from falling off his head; before the whole thing slammed back on all its wheels.

"That's a sign we've reached our maximum weight capacity, I do believe." Ragnold muttered, before looking over to the Sentinel standing by the gate who was still covered in muck and melted snow that had spilled over to her during his speedy approach to the house.

"Sorry ladies, we're full. Heyaaj!" Ragnold explained, before flailing his lash through the air and sent his horses into a frenzy as they charged away and off into the direction of the Trade District, the cobblestone pavement of Stormwind causing the wagon to bob up and down as they traveled through the city. One reason for his speed was the fact that he was a man who simply enjoyed going fast whenever he could.

Another reason was because he quite rightly wasn't sure how much more he could have waited outside the gate without any of the sentinels shooting him!

As they crossed the bridge over to the Trade District, they entered what was by far the busiest streets in all of Stormwind compared to the other districts. The combination of wet, melting snow lying on top of layers of silk smooth crystal hard ice was a recipe of pure evil, as was evident in the citizens that passed in the streets around them, where they witnessed at least half a dozen close calls and at least two falls on their way to the center of the Trade District.

"Any specific address in mind, m'lady? AND WATCH THE ROAD YOU FRACKING NOB!" Ragnold shouted back into the carriage as they traversed the busy street, temporarily breaking off to shout a series of cursewords at another carriage driver that raced across the street in front of him, cutting him off by less than two meters!

“Do you know where the Red Vanguards HQ is?” Liaena enquired conversationally where she sat next to him, having just observed another carriage slide past them just a few inches from her nose. Ragnold looked momentarily nonplussed, before recognition appeared on his face. “Right you are milady – RIGHT! TURNING RIGHT! GET OFFA THE ROAD!”

As they jinked right with a sweeping turn that sent pedestrians scurrying for cover and sent the carriage onto its two outside wheels yet again, with a few more frenzied twists and turns and driving that would cause any self-respecting cabbie to be barred for life, they squealed to a halt outside the inn with the newly built front door, the horses panting and wheels shaking.

“Okay. Just hold the carriage here for a moment, would you?” Liaena told Ragnold as she prepared to jump down into the slushy snow. Turning to look over her shoulder, she also squinted through the grille into the dusky inside of the carriage. “You two stay here. I’ll be right back”

Marshall glowered through the gloom back at her. His mood had clearly not improved, while looking distinctly unruffled by the frantic ride through the town. Having been studying Alficious’ diary, it was debatable whether he had even noticed it. “This is not our Cathedral of Light”

“No” Liaena allowed. “It’s not”

“Lying brat”

“We’ll be there soon, Father”

“And why is that thing with us!?” The old man wanted to know. A stab of his finger left no doubt about what ‘that thing’ was, Rithrynn having finally picked herself off the floor of the carriage.

“Because, Father, every time I’ve left the mansion in the last two days, something or someone has attacked me. And she’s good at dealing with that” Liaena said rather coldly. Avoiding the thought of exactly how much firewood the carriage could quite easily make and also avoiding catching Rithrynn’s eye, she jumped down into the slushy snow and made for the repaired door. “I’ll be right back. Do not kill each other!”

Stalking into the inn, there were several members of the Red Vanguard dotted around the interior, many seated at the trestle tables, a larger group clustered to the rear and talking in low voices. Liaena made a beeline for the latter, some of the men starting to look her way as she approached. “Fran!”

The dwarf stepped forward slightly, having previously apparently been talking to Darius, now looking confused. “…Liaena? What’s going on?”

Pausing in front of the group, Liaena glanced between the members of the Vanguard, before glancing at Darius and raising her eyebrows slightly. “Has the man you sent to Alficious’ come back yet?”

“……”

“…Right.” Liaena said grimly after the very telling pause. Looking at Fran, she jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the door to the inn, where as of yet no battle cries were emanating from. “We need to talk. There’s a carriage waiting outside and I’ve got about thirty seconds before somebody sets fire to it. Are you coming, or not?”

There was little time to object before Liaena had already jumped out of the wagon, and left Rithrynn alone with Marshal; the latter mostly focusing on the departing Liaena, and only interrupting to throw Rithrynn the ocasional glare.

As the rockity wagon had finally stilled, Rithrynn could finally take her seat without fear of being tossed around inside the thing that she would normally describe as a bumpy rolling casket on wheels. What humans found so fascinating with that kind of transport would forever elude Rithrynn's understanding as she sat down in one of the small seats, having to lean forward as the top of her hood and helmet gently bobbed against the roof.

"I swear by the goddess, if I have to sit like this for the next hours, I'm going to develop a neck injury!"

The other alternative was to lie down, but the wagon wasn't long enough for her either, meaning that she'd end up lying only half a clock through the wagon, which would be a questionable improvement at the very best. Not to mention presumably create a seat dispute with Liaena once she returned.

As Liaena disappeared into the Inn and makeshift headquarters of the Red Vanguard, which were in comparison to the fortress headquarters of the White Hand; not really that much; Rithrynn's eyes eventually floated to the only other person in the wagon, Marshal.

"So... "

Rithrynn started, not really sure what to talk about with the other human, of whom she had no connection to except through perhaps Liaena. But that did not say much.

"You are a priestess, or aide, of that human religion that worships The Holy Shiny?"

"It is called the holy Light, and male priests are called just that; Priests! Not priestesses!"

"That does not sound so different." Rithrynn commented, weathering some increasingly dirty looks from Marshal.
"But... how does being a priest for a false religion actually work? I am part of a real religion, but I don't quite understand how you can worship false idols. I mean... do you do it through thinking really, really hard? Is human prayer actually a form of self-convincing and advanced form of denial?"

Fran merely stared dumbfounded at the little girl, the dwarf's brain requiring a moment to process the recent surge of information.

"Talk? Fire? What be tha meanin' of this, girl?" Fran tried to ask.

"It's very important!"

"Right. Alright!" Fran answered, finishing the last remnants in his tankard before slamming it down back onto the table. The younger dwarf grabbed his axe that was resting against the side of the table to strap it around his waist as he jumped off the chair, throwing a quick look to Darius and the rest of the men by the table.
"Tell me pa I'll be late, crisis just occurred with Rune. He'll understand."

The dwarf said, before following after Liaena; correcting his girth guard.

"So, ye are sayin' that somethin' happened at the house of that Aflidious guy?" Fran inquired as he followed Liaena, both of them now walking towards the door.
"The investigation was stalled?"

Brushing some crumbs off his ginger beard, Fran could only imagine what was going on in the mansion. If there was one thing he knew about nobility in general, then that was that things were never as they seemed. There was always some hidden conspiracy or subtle war going on either between or inside the royal houses. But that was probably just a natural effect of being in possession of so much money and power in the first place.
There was a reason he had always preferred simpler charges, such as protecting farmers, traders or going to war as opposed to stand guard in the illustrious and extravagant golden halls and mansions of the higher classes and nobility. The former were usually much more simple, less lies, deception and hidden games involved.

"I know Ragnar, lass. He's more than capable of acting on his own, having been in Ironforge's own courts and great houses." Fran said, looking over to Liaena.
"If he aven't reported back, he's probably found sumthin' really important, and is pursuin' it right now."

"So, ye are sayin' that somethin' happened at the house of that Aflidious guy?"

“Something like that” Liaena said grimly as she headed towards the door, Fran trailing along behind. The girl evidently shared none of the dwarfs confidence as she picked up speed, raised voices audibly emenating from the carriage outside. “Hold that thought. One sec!”

*

“False idols…? …”

Marshall stared at Rithrynn as if he could not believe his ears, as a dark flush of anger slowly crawled up his neck. “How dare you blaspheme in the heart of this city? Wretched harpy”

Clutching the diary in one bony hand and his staff in the other, Marshall lurched to his feet, carriage shuddering as he waved his staff in the Night Elfs face. The end of the knarled stick was starting to glow noticeably in the gloom of the carriage as he shook it at her. “Your worship of demons keeps evil alive in this world, Keldorei! Repent, and cleanse your soul, or I will purge it –“

-BANG-

With a sudden squeal of hinges, the carriage door was yanked open again to reveal a Liaena and Fran, the former looking much too cheerful to be allowed under the circumstances. “High Priest Marshall! Could anything possibly be troubling you!?”

“Brat!” Marshall rounded upon the new target, stabbing a finger at the aforementioned Rithrynn. “This creature is a mockery against our faith, a sin against our world and is getting on my nerves!”

“She didn’t mean it, Father. She’s just very stupid”

“…Hmmph” Marshall grumbled after a brief pause, apparently slightly mollified by this. Meanwhile, Liaena shot looks at Rithrynn that promised her subsequent shrinking and stuffing in uncomfortable places if she decided to open her mouth. “I will not have her here! Foolish brat. Why did you even bring her!?”

“Ohh…” Liaena said evasively as she clambered into the carriage, tugging Fran along behind her and poking Rithrynn to move over. “But Father, she requested to learn more about the true faith. Surely we, are bound to try and save all souls, no matter how damned?”

“…….”

A silence fell with the old man ruminating upon this, allowing Liaena to carefully lean forward and disentangle his hands from the diary. As she closed the door behind them in the now full carriage, Ragnold whistled to his horses and they started to move again.

“We’re going to the Cathedral of Light”

Looking up, Liaena caught Frans eye, who was now sitting opposite her and looking quite rightfully confused at the situation. Having been affecting a cheery demeanour throughout her interactions with Priest Marshall, the girl now looked tired and grim again. “I got you to come along because something happened at Lord Alficious’ mansion and you’ve got one of your people in there as well. This afternoon, my owl brought me this”

Giving Fran a couple of seconds to digest this, Liaena held up Alficious’ diary, the book looking deceptively small and irrelevant given the weight that was being placed upon it. Thumbing through the pages to open it at the juiciest points regarding the White Hand, she passed it over for the dwarf to read. “This is the murdered nobles diary. You can look at all of it if you want but it’s more than enough for an investigation on the White Hand – Kathlin was supposed to meet me back at Sharon’s house this afternoon but she sent me this instead. And then there’s this”

Turning the page over to reveal the scrawled note, Liaena waited the dwarf to read it before raising her eyebrows darkly as he looked up at her again. “Something’s happened”

Fran gave an uncomfortable gaze towards elderly Marshal sitting next to him, and the Night Elf Rithrynn who was sitting on the opposite seat row. Although it seemed that Liaena had managed to instigate a modicum of order in the carriage, the eye contact between the former two was almost enough to form physical sparks in the air inside the wagon. To the dwarf, it was a feeling reminiscent of being trapped in a moving boxed together with dry gunpowder and an open flame - just waiting to make contact.

But the dwarf's concerns about his fellow passengers were pushed aside when Liaena suddenly passed him Aflidious's diary.

"I'm not much of a ... " Fran mumbled as he shuffled through the pages of the diary.
"This looks more like a bean counter's diary."

The dwarf seemed more confused by the maze of numbers and charts depicted in the Royal Treasury Advisor's journal,though his point of intrigue managed to rise a little bit as Liaena pointed him to the most relevant sections. Which were, in the least; slightly more intelligible to the dwarf.

"So, tha White Hand is running some shady guild economics? That could explain their quick expansion." The Dwarf reasoned, knowing the rapid expansion that marked the White Hand's success in both the kingdom of Stormwind and abroad.
"I knew there was no way those bastards could afford all their new stuff without making a huge deficit.

Taking a look at the urgent message written by Kathlin, Fran moved to look back at Liaena.

" ... I was wonderin' why there weren't anyone looking into it, but I guess it is difficult when you are dead. It seems your friend just walked into a game far beyond her own level without knowing."

Rithrynn felt like launching a protest against Liaena's attempt to instigate peace in the wagon, but the Night Elf shut her mouth when she received the look of warning from the human. If she started a fight, she would no doubt be outnumbered two to one, against Marshal and Liaena both. It was not at all unlikely that the dwarf she had brought into the carriage with her would probably pick her side as well.

"Stupid Li and her stupid social coalition building strategies. It's so easy for her when we are in a city filled with gnomes, dwarves and slightly taller dwarves!"

Now with four people inside of it, the undersized wagon had become even more crowded. The roof wasn't even high enough for her in the first place, and it did not help her mood!
Rithrynn choose to remove herself from the conversation and instead look out the window of the carriage and observe the passing streets and people, her helmet occasionally bobbing up into the wooden roof of the carriage with an slight thumping noise whenever one of its wheels hit an uneven cobblestone, a thing of which there was no shortage of in the streets of Stormwind!

But despite the annoyances, the carriage ride did have its potential. Had it been slightly bigger, and the other morons inside it removed; it could actually have been a thing Rithrynn herself could have gotten accustomed to. It was at least less of a hassle than sitting on a nightsaber's back!

"It seems your friend just walked into a game far beyond her own level without knowing."

"She was barely any taller than Li herself, so pretty much everything was above her." Rithrynn suddenly commented as the Night Elf returned to the conversation, weathering a filthy look from Liaena with a smile on her own face as she turned to look towards the dwarf, who so far was the only party in the wagon she had not yet managed to insult.

At least not directly...

"So now we believe that the people of the White Hand thingy have taken her to their big stone temple in the middle of a harbor."

"It's called a castle."

"Same-thingish! But regardless, we are creating a rescue slash infiltration operation and we need cannonfodder!"

“we do not need cannonfodder” Liaena snarled at Rithrynn through her teeth, the elf looking much too cheerful for her liking. The girl resisted the temptation to reach across the carriage to slap her as she reminded herself of the obvious conclusion of starting a fight in the confined space. It was a test of her heroic willpower and fortitude to bite back all available snarky comments.

“If we’re going with a height riff then you overlook everything, moron”

Well, almost all snarky comments.

With that, Liaena turned back to Fran to raise an eyebrow at him, the dwarf still attempting to peer at Alficious’ diary in the dim carriage. Marshall was still staring intently at Rithrynn, and Liaena had a bad feeling about an imminent storm. “But yes, we are planning a rescue mission. It’s –“

“Ill conceived, poorly planned and doomed for disaster”

Liaena ground her teeth together audible as she turned her head to look back at Marshall. “I hadn’t told you my plan yet, Father”

“It involves that pack of undisciplined, renegade harpies” the old man stated, pointing his stick across the carriage to jab it at Rithrynn. Raising his bushy eyebrows at Liaena he waited for her confirmation. “Then it’s ill conceived, poorly planned and doomed for disaster”

The problem the girl was faced with as she looked for a comeback, was her own agreement with Marshall’s analysis of the Night Elves competence. “They…can be useful sometimes Father. If directed…”

“So what? You think a pack of dwarves and monkies could do better!?”

“My assistant has become aimless, drifting” Marshall ruminated to nobody in particular, giving a small shake of his head as he looked across the carriage at Frarn. “Such a shame when someone strays from the path. I do my best to guide her…”

Liaena sunk into the back cushions of the carriage as she pressed two fingers to her temple, wishing at that point she could just dissolve through it and end up somewhere else. “I – hate – everyone in this carriage”

“Rithrynn – SHUT UP! Marshall – Father – I am NOT your ASSISTANT!”

The old man jerked his head around to look at her in some surprise, before a frown appeared on his face. “Of course you’re not. You’re not good enough”

…..

-SCREEECH-

“We’re here, milady!”

“…So much for pre-briefing”

Liaena thought as she scanned the carriage wearily, Fran looking her way with obvious confusion at events that had just taken place. “Fran, could I have that book back? Thanks, fine. Look, Rithrynn….you’re here now, so I suppose you’d better come in. Just, don’t talk about that god of yours. Or about religion, and don’t shoot anyone…and you’d better not do anything really. Or say anything. Okay?”

“Or I swear I will shrink you”

Shooting Rithrynn a glare that Liaena hoped adequately conveyed that threat, Liaena swung the carriage door open to climb up to the drivers seat and negotiate with Ragnold about fare and/or tip. Having paid far more than she would normally consider acceptable due to time constraints, she jumped down just as Marshall was climbing slowly out of the door to catch at his arm. “Marshall – you know that we shouldn’t speak about this in public, right? This needs to be secret, for security…”

“Don’t lecture me about military tactics, brat.”

“…okay, okay. Just checking” Liaena breathed, letting go of the mans sleeve to look out across the marble square they had stopped right in front of, the closest place wheeled vehicles could stop to the looming sculpture of marble and white stone that jutted out of the ground across the square from them. Mingling with townsfolk and obvious tourists were a lot of human men and women in blue and white robes. Some of these, primary the younger looking ones had paused and gathered to peer over at the new arrivals, particularly Liaena, Marshall and the gigantic Rithrynn who had at this point disentangled herself from the carriage behind them. Liaena painted a smile on her face as she turned towards them. “After you then, Father…”

“Liiiii!”

Out of the gathering crowd, one slightly braver blond girl darted forward to grasp Liaena in a huge hug. Given she was distinctly taller and better endowed, the smaller girl was effectively enveloped by her as she stiffened up in her embrace. “How are you!? We were so worried! Everyone thought you were dead!”

“Hi Bella” Liaena said with an extreme lack of enthusiasm as the girl finally released her. “I’m not”

“Aw, I’m so glad you’re back! You look really bad though, you know. You should get something for your eyes” Bella remarked flippantly as she continued to walk beside Liaena, the girl following Marshall as he strode towards the Cathedral main doors. Leaning in, she gave the girl a pseudo-whisper, as she jerked her head back towards the pair following them. “There’s been all sorts of stories, that you brought in a dying dwarf yesterday and he bled out in the infirmary. Is that that Night Elf friend of yours? Why is she dressed like that?”

-double posts suck-

-double posts suck-